CATIA for Engineers enables Digital Prototyping including Analysis and Simulation for design and validation of function quality and performance at all stages ofthe design.

Mechanical engineering is complex as assemblies are designed to perform a specific task with a specific target performance. Digital prototyping, combined with digital analysis and simulation, allows product development teams to virtually create and analyze a mechanical product in its environment. Mechanical engineers must be equipped with these tools so that they can gain insight into key factors in quality and performance early in the product development phase.

CATIA Flexible Circuit Board

3D design of flexible circuit board, Collaborative work in parallel between ECAD Engineer and MCAD Designers

As today's electronic devices pack more functions into smaller and lighter packages, flexible printed circuit boards (PCB) become more pervasive. Although they provide an optimal solution for these cramped electronic environments, design and prototyping of flexible PCB components is problematic, often relying on expensive physical prototyping, error-prone manual processes and paper drawings for mechanical and Electronic CAD (ECAD) communication.

Now you can eliminate these non-value-add expenses and errors by leveraging the power of CATIA Flexible Circuit Board, which enables the modeling of a flexible circuit board within a virtual mock-up and facilitates the collaboration with electronic CAD systems. Efficient collaboration helps to optimize design by improving or eliminating the errors associated with disjointed handoffs between flexible circuit board, prototyping and manufacturing. CATIA Flexible Circuit Board optimizes design efficiency by leveraging a fully automated, streamlined and cost-efficient process for design and development of electronic devices.

Easy creation of mechanical shapes of printed circuit boards

The flexible PCB’s 3D shape is created in the Generative Sheet Metal Design workbench, within the global assembly product definition, taking the mechanical context into account. It provides a very intuitive and productive environment for the design of flexible circuit boards with dedicated tools like the sketcher that allows rapid definition and edition of flexible circuit board profiles. Its feature-based approach offers a highly productive and intuitive design environment. General features such as cut out stamps, holes and flanges as well as dedicated features for bended part such as wall, wall on edge, bend, extrude… permit the creation of geometry on both folded and unfolded representations of a flexible circuit board. A cutout performed, for example, on the unfolded representation of the part will automatically and simultaneously be reflected on the folded representation.

Creation of Constraint Area

CATIA Flexible Circuit Board allows the creation of Constraint Areas. A constraints area is a specific CBD object based on a planed profile (sketch or 3D curve). Edition and creation of the volume are done through a dedicated command. Constraint areas are the communication channel of specifications between ECAD and MCAD. All the constraint areas are gathered in a body called Constraint Area, which is created on the fly when the Constraint area functionality is used first time.

Electronic components placement on flexible boards

CATIA Flexible Circuit Board enables intelligent placement of 3D electronic components on the flexible board. The component can come from a catalog in the database or can be already in session. The standard component can be placed on the flexible circuit board and constrained to its mechanical environment. By using this command, the placed component will keep its position during Folded/Unfolded view.

Switch to Fold / Unfold View

At any time you can fold/unfold your Flexible PCB part to have a folded or flattened view of it. The constraint areas and attached electrical components reposition along with the master part while folding or unfolding. It manages all the sheet metal features and some objects of the flexible circuit board like the components, the Constraint areas, the Holes and Cutouts.

The Export as IDF File tool is used to export the Flexible Circuit Board (outline, mechanical constraint areas, cutouts and drilled holes, components placement) in the IDF 2.0/3.O format, which can be used in ECAD applications. After placing the electrical components and other ECAD operations, a new IDF file is generated and sent to MCAD. This .IDF file generated after ECAD routing contains the location of the components in the flexible circuit board assembly and the constraint areas.

Synchronization after ECAD modification import

To take into account the modification made by ECAD designer , the MCAD user is able to update an existing board assembly ( initial assembly ) with a new .idf and .lib file, which can contain any changes to the board geometry (profile, thickness, holes, pockets), component placement, component constraints (remove or add) and the BOM of the board. CATIA Flexible Circuit Board offers a fully automated, streamlined and cost-efficient process. At the end of the procedure, all imported components and constraint areas are attached to the master flexible PCB. The fully developed, flexible PCB can be refolded with all of its components and placed in the 3D assembly for final validation.